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Emilia found it a little strange that Noelle's 'cousin' didn't join them for breakfast, but she soon shrugged it off as the girl being too lazy to get up early in the morning.
She had been quite curious about Noelle's cooking skills, but since they were in a hurry, the older girl only prepared a relatively simple breakfast. Given that the seasonings and flavor were all in place, however, Emilia believed that Noelle must be at least decent.
Neither of them spoke much, though Noelle was happy to see that Emilia wasn't dissatisfied with what she had prepared. Knowing what the girl must be used to, she had also wanted to do better, but there simply wasn't enough time, and Noelle wasn't so confident in her skill either, so she decided it was better not to overdo things.
Of course, Emilia could feel the older girl's scorching gaze on her face, but since she had no idea what Noelle was thinking, she could only return a smile before turning back to the breakfast.
After finishing the half-fried eggs and french toast, Emilia quickly followed Noelle to the car, and the two of them set off for the White Deer mansion.
On the way, Noelle finally couldn't hold herself back anymore, and bit her lip as she stared at Emilia from the corner of her eyes. "Y-You don't regret it, right?"
Emilia, who had been lazily leaning back on her seat, turned to give her an incredulous look. "Why would I?"
Noelle breathed a sigh of relief before shaking her head. "No, I just heard that younger girls are usually not very, um, committed?"
The crimson-haired girl frowned. "Slander! Don't I always give it my all to take care of all my friends? Also… who says I'm younger than you?"
Noelle felt her lips twitch in amusement. "Yes yes, Emilia is a very diligent little girl, I'll admit it. But in terms of age—"
Emilia suddenly smirked, feeling like the atmosphere was too good to not tease this generally serious girl. There was no way she could hold back. "Hush. Forget about everything before. Now, we're starting over, and you have to believe all the nonsense I say. I said I'm not younger, so I'm not."
Noelle coughed. "It says on your birth certificate—"
Emilia pretended to be irritable while trying to contain her smile. "Even if I'm physically younger, I'm still older than you in terms of mental age!"
Although she was just teasing Noelle, Emilia didn't feel guilty since what she said was technically true.
The gray-haired girl groaned. "You're just bullying me, aren't you?"
Emilia huffed. "Even if I'm physically younger, I'm still older than you in terms of mental age! Are you going to believe a stupid piece of paper over me?"
Anyway, if she were to consider 'how long this body has existed' as a measure of her age, wouldn't she have to call five-year-old girls 'big sister'?
Noelle's words were immediately blocked. 'How come this girl got so much more unreasonable? Wasn't she supposed to get more docile after being screwed into the bed like that?'
When her thoughts got to that point, however, Noelle's exasperation was quickly blown away by the colorful scenery popping into her mind.
Looking at Emilia's smug face, she couldn't help but recall how charming she looked while moaning under her 'care'. Noelle pursed her lips as she felt a jolt of anticipation run up her spine, and she could only stiffly focus on the road while shutting her mouth.
Looking at the gray-haired girl's blushing face, Emilia smirked. "What, are you thinking about something naughty? I haven't done it in the car yet."
Noelle almost ended up slamming the brakes in shock, and turned to glare at the younger girl threateningly. "Do you want us to crash and die?!"
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Meanwhile, Amos was startled awake by the ringing of loud bangs and booms in his ears, and instinctively started screeching the moment he regained consciousness. "NO! Don't hit me anymore! I had nothing to do with your son! Please!"
Of course, he knew that the bastard would continue to him anyway, but the hero could only grit his teeth and endure the humiliation.
Just thinking of everything he had been through so far, his heart almost burst from his chest in both rage and shame.
It was all the fault of that bitch!
If she hadn't left him abandoned in that alley, would he have been found by this delirious pervert and tortured like this? When had a proud son of heaven like him ever had to endure such humiliation?!
And Crystal, that ungrateful swine! He had to teach her a lesson!
But thinking about how he couldn't even see any hopes of getting out of here, the hero felt a feeling of both despair and rage cloud his mind.
One day, he would destroy everything that was related to this man, no matter what.
But he was still aware of his situation, and the hero kept the gloom in his eyes hidden as he begged with his head down. Amos knew that if he didn't beg, he would only be beaten more ruthlessly.
Strangely enough, though, the pain that he had been expecting never came, and the silver-haired boy fearfully opened his eyes only to be left completely stunned.
Looking at the sturdy figure of the man in front of him, Amos suddenly felt a strange emotion bubble in his chest. "D-Dad?"
The silver-haired boy never realized it, but how could Mr. Black miss the fact that his son called him 'Dad' instead of 'Father' for the first time since his wife passed away?
But thinking about the reason why it happened, the buff man couldn't find a single shred of joy in his heart, and his dark expression also petrified Amos in fear.
Motioning his people to untie the boy and take care of his injuries, Mr. Black walked out of the crowded basement without a word, leaving the hero reeling in shock.
'T-This bastard… does he not even care?!'
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